Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-07-30
A TIREMAN'S HEROISM.
INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH TO RES
CUE A WOMAN.

Awful Fate of Two of the Victims of a
Chicago Blaze-Hung Up to Roast in a
seething Flame-Costiy Fire Started in
Cincinnati by Boys-Cyclone Havoc
Record of Casualties
CHICAGO, July S0-The names of the vic
tins of the fire at Essen's bakery Friday
morning were as follows: Dead-Maria Tru-
do, aged ? years. burned beyond recognition;
Mrs Mary Trudo aged 40
Badly suffocated- Nelson Trudo, T. Bon
neau, Mr.. Bonneau, Phillip Bonneau, aged
years; Mrs Nelson Blake
Bruised and otherwise injured by jumping
from the windows: Nelson Blake, frankie
Blake Tommy Blake, Dick Blake, Miss An
ME Bault, Adel Trudo, Nelson Trudo, Jr.
aged II years; Della Trudo, aged years;
Eliza Trudo, aged 10 years.
Besides these Capt William Fl.
Cowan, Of truck No s, is lying al
his home seriously burned, and with bare
possibility of recovering, as the result
of his heroic self-sacrifce in an attempt to
save Mrs. Trudo and her child. The fate OF
the woman and the little one, and Capt. Cow
ans heroic effort for their rescue is a story
that is full of horror, but lighted up by the
the bravery of Capt Cowan and another fire
man Mrs Trudo occupied room near the
rear on the second floor. and when the Off
GERS and firemen rescued her husband and
four children, she was, in some manner read
lily aseribable to the confusion of the mo-
ment, neglected Left with her 2-year-old
baby Mary, the poor woman resOrted to the
window. A fireman saw her, and plunging
through the smoke he returned to her cham
Der. All escape from the rear with such a
burden as "a woman and child was impossible
He thought of the BEDFORD aud tearing it
out he bound the woman and her baby in it
and pushed them through the window. He
played out the rope until he was ready &c
fall to the floor, when he fastened the upper
end to the bed-post and fed Alas for his gal
liant purpose, be had but too surely comprised
the destruction of those he sought to save.
His rope was too short, and instead of drop
ping the woman and child to the ground, or
within reach of those below, he had sus-
pended them in front of first-fioor window
from which the fire poured as from fur
mace door. She swung there ten or twelve
feet from the ground, writhing,
shrieking, struggling, as the fire swept
| off her garments, choked and broiled
| the baby in her arms and cooked her flesh
| BY the most singular fatality the fire that
was destroying her left the rope intact. 1t be-
| came necessity, if not to save the woman,
TO at least remove the revolving sight
This duty was assumed by Capt. William
| a. Cowan, of truck No. S, who might have
ordered another man to the task, but who
| chose to accept the fate which he knew and
was told by the Mortified spectators awaited
his efforts, Selling ladder, he thrust it mp
| to the blazing window and with an ak
| mounted and stood on its blazing rung He
| deliberately entered the flames and as they
| encircled him from the crest of his helmet to
| the soles Of his boots he struck at the rope,
| aim Once, twice, as the clothing fell from
| him he struck in vain. At the third stroke
| the blade cut the rope. simultaneously the
burning ladder broke, and the three blazing
human beings fell to the ground The baby
was already dead; the mother died few
hours later and the captain lies in his home
at the corner of Deeriug and Archer avenue
suffering in what is thought to be his death
| agonies.
The cause of the fire was the boiling over
of pot of lard in the basement. The lard
at once caught fire, and the bakers who
were working in the room Immediately fed
1t Is stated that the men had been drinking
beer during the night, and fell asleep while
| the lard was on the fire